Ramadan Reflections: Day 22

Bismillah.. In the name of Allah the Most Merciful

I hope everyone is doing their best during these last couple of nights left. It is hard to keep awake the whole night, but we all know how important these nights are for us. Imagine, how many of us will be alive for 83 years! If we do, will we be able to be fit enough to worship our Lord that much? So please don't waste this great opportunity. May Allah subahanu wa ta'ala enable us to witness the night of power and accept our deeds, ameen! Now a days, I am trying to avoid going online . Most of my work requires me to be online which is quite challenging for me given I love browsing and reading. But I am trying to balance bi'idnillah. MashAllah Sheikh Omer Suleiman's today's Ramadan resolution is very timely. Let us try our best to have "cyber i'tikaf" as much as possible, inshAllah.

‪#‎RamadanResolution‬ Day 22 (Cyber I’itikaf) by Sheikh Omer Sulaiman 

" The world of the Internet is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand: it provides us access to Islamic lectures/information and allows us to establish the ties of friendship and family. On the other hand: it provides us access to not so Islamic things and allows us to destroy our ties of friendship and family with a dumb email or an ill-mannered form of writing (Ref. #RamadanResolution Day 19). So lets face it, it really can go both ways. But one of the greatest casualties of increased Internet usage is our ability to engage in tadabbur (reflection) and tafakkur (contemplation). In fact, you may notice people, even in I’itikaf (seclusion) in the masjid these last 10 nights, who never part with their smart phones. And no, they’re not all just reading Quran  We’re just so addicted to the internet/phone/ipad that we don’t know what to do with ourselves anymore without these things and so we never experience the true sweetness of alone time.

All of the pious predecessors were known to have an hour of the day, a day of the week, etc. in which they would completely seclude themselves from everyone including family. In our day and age, even when we seclude ourselves we still take calls, check emails, and update statuses.

So here’s a tip for your sanity and mine. Spend some time every week in cyber I’itikaf. That means no phone calls, no FB statuses, no tweets, etc. Just focus on answering the call of Allah, checking the status of your faith, and tweeting your love to your Lord."